In response to the fall of the outpost and winter camp, Muravyov convened a meeting at the Governor-General's Palace in Eastern Siberia. The initial participants were only administrative officials from the Governor-General's Palace and the military.

Muravyov was born into a noble family in Russia. His father had served as governor, imperial minister and privy councillor. He himself attended the Royal Military School for Nobles, worked as a court boy, and later participated in many military campaigns as an officer. During the war, his glorious resume and the label of a close confidant of the emperor resulted in his high prestige in the Governor's Mansion.

At the beginning of the meeting, Muravyov defined the matter as a provocation by shameless people against the empire, and demanded that troops and warships be immediately deployed to the mouth of the Wulong River to resolutely fight back against the enemy.

"Who is the enemy?" The officials present looked at each other, feeling that the governor had lost his mind due to his rage. However, seeing that the young officials' eyes were red from stimulation, they had no choice but to shut up in this situation.

As a senior official, the 43-year-old Muravyov has not lost his mind at all. As an experienced politician known for his boldness and carefulness, he keenly smelled an ominous atmosphere from this matter. This is the beginning of a disaster.

There are three directions for the expansion of Lucia: the Danube Sea Basin of Europe and Constantinople, Central Asia and the Far East, and the Far East is the least valued area - for economic reasons, the empire and nobility cannot be obtained in the Far East Excess profits, so it is difficult for him to get the support of the empire. Just the emperor's attention is of no use. Expansion does not require people, but guns, cannons, warships, money and materials.

In Zhixiu's original world, the two icons of Russia's expansion in the Far East, Muravyov and Nevelskoy, both received a cold reception a few years later.

Captain Nevelskoy, who presided over the exploration of the Wulong River and Sakhalin Island, was called a great explorer and hero by the people. However, he was suspended from service in 1856 and was assigned to engage in academic research after returning to St. Petersburg.

Governor Muravyov, who had seized large areas of land for Rusia, was forced to retire in 1861.

Muravyov's results were not as good as those of Captain Nevelskoy. The latter rose to prominence after many delays, and finally climbed to the high position of admiral of the Navy, while the former continued to be suppressed and was finally forced to retire in 1868 at the age of 55. Paris, who emigrated abroad at that time, has since faded out of Lucian politics.

The reason for their misfortune was apparently because they violated the ban of St. Petersburg and "privately explored and entered the Wulong River and Hekou Bay areas, thus starting a great adventure in the Far East." But in fact, they were nobles who insisted on expanding to Europe. Their counterattack against the emperor and his henchmen, "The empire's energy is limited, and limited human and financial resources must be used in more precious places" - in which direction it expands, it affects the major interests of the relevant people, and the internal conflicts caused by this The fight was very fierce.

Muravyov, who was aware of this, actively developed his relationship with Rumi Colonial Company after taking office, hoping to gain support from the nobles behind it.

He drew a big picture for the businessmen led by Rumi Company. The development of Wulong River Estuary and Sakhalin Island is likely to find gold mines or new fur origins, encouraging these businessmen and the nobles behind them to invest in expansion in the Far East. With high hopes.

However, the loss of the outpost and winter camp undoubtedly sounded the alarm for everyone. The expansion of the Far East may not be as easy as imagined.

Therefore, Governor Muravyov defined the matter as "this is a provocation to the great empire" at the beginning of the meeting, hoping to draw everyone's attention away from the risks involved, and he took this opportunity to increase investment.

, by then the ship will be done, "What's do be undone", it will not be so easy for these people to get off the ship after getting on the ship.

Muravyov's plan is very good and his execution is not bad, but people can always pull their hair off the ground and decide to retaliate and counterattack. Although the enemy is unclear who the manpower and materials are, they have to gather together.

Come out.

The treasurer first expressed that it was very difficult. The finances of the two coastal administrative regions of Okhotsk and Kamchatka have been poor. If they want to do something, they all rely on subsidies from St. Petersburg. A lot of money has been spent on the maintenance of front posts and winter camps. Now,

Both are in trouble. Just the pension is a headache. If you increase the investment, the money and materials cannot be easily obtained.

Muravyov dismissed this, saying that the pension was nothing. I had violated the orders of St. Petersburg by sending people to establish a post at the mouth of the Wulong River. Now that the people are gone, there will be lawsuits in the future, and it will be difficult to deal with the missing soldiers.

You can't even get the pension, so don't worry about the pension for now. Anyway, the supplies for the outpost this year are still on the transport ship. Let's send people there first - we'll worry about the next thing later.

In fact, Governor Muravyov did not know that originally this year, that is, 1852, his Far East expansion plan would make great progress. When surveying Sakhalin Island, Captain Nevelskoy was in the east of Sakhalin Island.

Many seal and fur seal habitats have been discovered on the coast, which will bring huge business opportunities.

Taking Seal Island alone as an example, more than 100,000 furs will be harvested in the four years from 1852 to 1855. The annual fur output of this small island alone is 1.5 times that of the Rumi Colonial Company in North America. The tax on these furs

The coffers of the East Siberian Governor-General's Palace would be greatly enriched, and the interests of the fur trade would give the Governor-General a lot of support in St. Petersburg.

The White Lord Prison has been hunting Seal Island since last year, but Governor Muravyov is still unaware of this blockade.

The treasurer was restrained, but there were still people

Keep jumping out, and there will be two of them as soon as they jump out.

Muravyov learned the lesson from last time and asked the Okhotsk District Fleet to station ships at the outpost, but the fleet commander, who had always cooperated with his actions, expressed opposition this time.

The reason is high-sounding. According to the order, the duty of the Okhotsk District Fleet is "coastal patrol to protect the security of coastal territories and the normal conduct of commerce", and the Wulong River Estuary is not within the original scope of protection.

Muravyov was confused after hearing this. Why didn't you fart when you went to supply the outpost? Now that you think about it, you are not within the protection range. What a liar.

Muravyov and Alexander Menshikov, the boss of the Okhotsk District Fleet and the chief of staff of the Rusian Navy at the time, were both close confidants of Nicholas I. The two of them were expanding in the Far East and looking for the eastern seaport.

There was a tacit understanding, and under Menshikov's hint, the Okhotsk District Fleet had been very cooperative with the relevant orders of the Governor of Eastern Siberia, but today the fleet commander suddenly rebelled. What happened?

Muravyov treated the fleet commander with both soft and hard tactics. As the governor, he could have asked the fleet to cooperate, but he violated the ban and forced the other party to implement it. The political risks involved were too great, and a wise man would not do it, so he re-emphasized the eastern

The entrance to the sea is of great significance, but the usual excuses that work once tried did not work this time. The navy commander groaned and refused to agree to send warships to station permanently.

In fact, it is really not a good decision to send warships to station outposts. There are no shipyards and forts in the area, and the docks were burned down. Moreover, the Tatar Strait thawed in May and the Sea of ​​Okhotsk thawed in June. The entire fleet only has 2 gunboats.

, there are 4 military transport ships and 5 small sailing ships. If the troops are divided, the strength will be even weaker. If a battle breaks out, the fleet commander will really be unable to explain the defeat.

Moreover, the commander suspected that the opponent he was facing might be the British Far East Fleet, because there were indeed no other warships nearby. He had not seen any Tang warships since the outpost was established. The Fuso navy was weak because the Suoguo fleet was weak.

Without the ocean fleet, the fleets of France and the United States are also possible, but the most powerful one is the English Far East Fleet. If there is a fight, without the support of the fort, your own fleet will definitely be defeated, and the opponent will block the mouth of the Wulong River.

, there is no place to run, so sending ships to station there is definitely not a rational decision.

Governor Muravyov hinted that he would write a letter to Commander-in-Chief Menshikov to complain, but the fleet commander was still unable to make progress - Muraviov did not know that Admiral Menshikov was based on Nicholas I

Instructions are being prepared for war against the Ottoman Empire, and a letter has been written asking the Okhotsk District Fleet to "proceed with caution."

The fleet couldn't handle it, so Muravyov had to turn back to comfort the other party who jumped out.

Cossack cavalry are mercenaries and theoretically do not have many rights. But power is power. In Lucia's expansion in the Far East, Cossack cavalry were pioneers and cheap cannon fodder. Their large numbers cannot be ignored.

Originally, the Cossack cavalry did not have a unified organization. They were just vassals of the Lucian Legion, so the various companies were not a whole. But these people were of the same race after all, and they often hugged each other to keep warm.

The Cossack cavalry officer present this time jumped out and said something that had nothing to do with revenge.

Governor Muravyov has not yet decided which cavalry company to send out, but there are Cossack officers who come out to ask for pay - as mercenaries, their treatment is very poor, military pay is often delayed, and sometimes they have to raise their own pay, which is Lu.

The West Asians issued military pay and bounties in a way that allowed them to loot.

This time a cavalry company disappeared. The Cossacks were angry, but they couldn't do it without giving money before departure - the brothers in front were deceived, and now they don't know whether they will live or die without receiving the money. They will learn a lesson from the experience. Let's talk about other things.

It's no use. You must ensure that the military pay and bounty are sufficient before sending out troops this time, otherwise I won't be able to serve you.

Muravyov's nose was almost twisted with anger. These ruffians have no hope of promotion, so they are not afraid of superiors. The only thing they care about is money. But you, a small mercenary leader, who gave you the courage to challenge the governor!

Thinking of this, Muravyov suddenly felt that something was wrong. As the governor, he had great power. Few people dared to chat with him. There was something wrong with today's meeting. Someone must be causing trouble behind the scenes!

Just at this time, the attendant came in and reported that there were representatives of Lumi Company and local big business leaders outside requesting an audience.

Muravyov took the opportunity to adjourn the meeting and asked everyone to make preparations in accordance with the decision of the Governor's Palace - Muravyov planned to negotiate with the opponents alone in private to find out what happened, and then defeat these people separately.

of resistance.

As expected, nothing good happened. As soon as they met, the representatives of Rumi Company asked the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia to provide support to Alaska. They also announced that they would reduce their business investment in the local area. The big business leaders on the side also loudly agreed.

If the fall of the outpost and the winter camp affected the prestige of the Governor's Palace and Muravyov personally, and brought changes to Muravyov's Far East expansion plan, then the statements of Rumi Company and the businessmen were a blow to the plan.

——Muravyov relies entirely on these people to maintain his financial resources and obtain support from St. Petersburg.

Although he had never heard the saying "you must calm down when faced with big things", Muravyov forced himself to calm down and listened carefully to the reasons why Rumi Company did this.

The representative of Rumi Company was very proud and told all the reasons. Who supports and who opposes. Those who do not support are blind and deceived.

It turns out that since 1850, rumors of a large gold mine in Alaska have been circulating in the North American region.

The California gold rush that started in 1848 was still in its infancy, and the Australian gold rush started in 1850. The entire Western countries were filled with rumors of some silly boy getting rich overnight, so in the earliest days, there were rumors about the big gold mine in Alas.

It was buried among countless similar rumors and was not taken seriously.

But in 1851, American newspapers began to widely publish various news about gold mines in Alaska. “In Alaska, native women all have gold necklaces hanging around their necks! Natural gold nuggets are exposed on the surface there and are easy to find.”

Alaska is a franchise territory of Lumi Company, and its traditional businesses are fur and fishing. After hearing rumors about gold mines, Lumi Company conducted a "detailed" investigation and found that there are indeed gold mines, but scattered gold mines are not worth investing in.

Heavy investment in development.

Unexpectedly, in the winter of 1851, a piece of news quickly spread. An American expedition team returned to San Francisco from Alaska and showed the public a natural gold nugget weighing 33 pounds, saying that it came from Alaska's Golden River.

What was obtained was, "A river is full of gold." This incident caused a sensation across the United States. After that, countless explorers and gold diggers poured into Alaska with their dreams.

Originally, many American whalers and poachers came to Alaska to compete with the Lumi Company, and now countless gold diggers have been added to the mix, causing various conflicts to continue to occur.

But Rumi said it was not afraid at all, so this time it was different from the past. There were really big gold mines in Alaska, and they were discovered everywhere.

The biggest gain is the large gold mine discovered by Lumi Company in southern Alaska based on the speed of the expedition team. After preliminary exploration, the gold mine is distributed in a zone about 160km long and 5-8km wide. It is estimated that it can be mined for more than a hundred years.

, everyone in Lumi Company was so happy about this that they didn’t even bother to scold the pseudo-experts who prospected last time, and quickly sent someone to report the good news to St. Petersburg.

As the Kamchatka Peninsula, the Russian territory closest to Alaska, they certainly did not forget to send people here to seek support.

"Hey, what is this? Gold! Yellow, shining, precious gold! No, gods, I am not an idle believer; I just want you to give me some roots! This thing, just a little bit

, you can turn black into white, ugly into beautiful, wrong into right, humble into noble, old into young, coward into brave."

The great Shakespeare's description of gold will never go out of style. Rumi's description of the gold mine inspired the enthusiasm of all the big businessmen on the Kamchatka Peninsula, and they all expressed their intention to buy stocks and even go to Alaska to make a fortune in person.

At the same time, representatives of Rumi Company also privately approached the commander of the Okhotsk District Fleet and asked him to support the decision to send warships to Alaska.

The last general manager of Rumi Company was Admiral Wrangel. Although he had returned to St. Petersburg, during his tenure as general manager from 1840 to 1849, Wrangel laid deep roots in the Far East and Alaska—

—As the largest local business group and a former admiral, it is easy to do this.

Relying on the influence of Wrangel, and even more relying on the persuasion of Jin Jin, the most influential person in human society, everyone in the Okhotsk District Fleet expressed firm support for all legal actions of the empire in North America.

In Naohide's original world, the Alaska Gold Rush broke out many times, the first in 1880 and the second in 1897, and gold mines were discovered many times in many places.

Naohide and Gakujiro detonated the gold rush in advance. With the California Gold Rush and the Australian Gold Rush preheating, the enthusiasm triggered was simply unimaginable. Thousands of people traveled to Alaska from sea and land, and Lumei Company was completely unaware of this.

Therefore, I want to take away the entire Okhotsk District Fleet - what do you think of renaming it the Alaska Fleet?

After listening to the report of the Rumi Company representative, Governor Muravyov could only give in. He could fully imagine what would happen next. Not only the Eastern Siberian Governor-General, but the entire Siberian Governor-General and the entire empire would join in this carnival.

, all the manpower and warships that can be mobilized will rush towards Alaska in an endless stream, and anyone who tries to stop them will be crushed into powder. Therefore, he immediately expressed his support for Rumi Company, "The Governor's Office will do everything possible to cooperate."

After the meeting, Captain Nevelskoy asked to see the governor, but the two of them had no response. Captain Nevelskoy said that he would continue to implement the emperor's secret order and resolutely complete the control of the Wulong River Basin and Sakhalin Island.

Exploration, but Governor Muravyov had a pessimistic view on this. He believed that no one could stop the gold rush, not even the emperor.

But he angrily said to the ship, "Gold cannot save an empire, only a vast territory can! The empire has forever lost its development opportunities in the Far East, and the imperial navy has forever lost its easy access to the eastern seaport!"

As the governor expected, Captain Nevelskoy received an urgent order from the Okhotsk District Fleet on his way back to his "Baikal", requiring him to immediately take the ship to Alaska and stand by. Nevelskoy

Koi argued hard, saying that he had a special mission for the navy, but the fleet commander cited the authorization order under special circumstances and dismissed Nevelskoi from his post on the spot. Soon after, the "Baikal" and other ships
Chapter completed!